1989 all over again — Siena shocks Stanford

The Siena men’s basketball team earned one of the biggest wins in program history and completed one of the surprising upsets of the college-basketball season Saturday.

The Saints knocked off Stanford, ranked No. 20 in the most recent Associated Press Poll, by a score of 79-67 at Times Union Center.

The win, which unfolded in front of 6,247 fans, conjured memories of the 1989 NCAA Tournament, when Siena also pulled off an improbable upset of the Cardinal.

Siena led by as many as 14 points in the second half. Its win seemed assured when with 5 minutes, 6 seconds left to play Robin Lopez, Stanford’s 7-foot center and a probable NBA player someday, rattled a dunk off the rim.

Defense carried Siena. The Saints, who gave up 100 points in their first game and 97 in their second, held the Cardinal to 36.6 percent shooting from the field.

Stanford seemed to sense trouble throughout the second half.

Cardinal coach Trent Johnson signaled for timeout with 9 minutes, 2 seconds to play after Siena buried 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to open a 10-point lead, its largest to that point.

Josh Duell struck first from the right side.

Then Tay Fisher sunk one from just in front of the Siena bench.

Duell added the third from the right side again.

Just about all of the green and gold-clad fans in attendance gave the Saints an ovation as they sauntered to the bench. An upset seemed within Siena’s grasp.

Siena stayed ahead with defense. Goods scored his first field goal, a 3-pointer, with 12:59 left in the second half. By that time, Stanford needed the basket to slow Siena’s momentum.

The Saints moved ahead by five points moments earlier, after Ronald Moore sliced into the lane, then floated a left-handed shot through the hoop. Siena led, 45-40.

Franklin buoyed the effort with strong play from the post. Hardly intimidated by the 7-foot Lopez, Franklin drew fouls on consecutive possessions, scoring a put-back as well on the second to keep Siena ahead, 43-40.

A day after Fisher, a senior captain said the Saints “won’t allow a team to come in to our building and beat us by 30, 40 points, Siena made good on his promise by grabbing an early advantage.

“Over-ra-ted! Over-ra-ted,” came the chant from the Siena student section, 500 strong, as the Saints left the court at halftime, staked to a 33-31 lead.

The Saints played their best defensive half of the season, holding Stanford to 36.4 percent shooting from the field.

The Cardinal entered the game averaging 86.5 points and boasted an average margin of victory of 34 points. That, combined with Siena’s early-season defensive woes, appeared to be an ill-fated combination for the Saints.

But it wasn’t the case.

Anthony Goods, who scored 30 points last season against Siena? He missed all six of his first-half shots.

Robin Lopez, the NBA-player-to-be? He attempted just three shots and scored only two points by intermission.

Siena led by as many as seven points early, after Tay Fisher came off the bench to hit consecutive 3-pointers and Chris De La Rosa added a jump shot. The score was Siena 24, Stanford 17, by the seven-minute mark.